The Muggleborn Ghost
by ZeldaPotter29
Summary: Seventh year Hufflepuff Alyssa Clark was killed during the summer in the same attack that killed the Bones family. Now she roams the halls of Hogwarts as a ghost, keeping an eye out for the younger students, especially Susan Bones, who she sees as a little sister. But when The Golden Trio starts getting into trouble, will Alyssa lend a helping hand? OC-Centric. NO SLASH
1. Chapter 1

A girl of seventeen years lay quietly in her bed as she read _A Standard Book of Spells: Grade 7 _by the light of a flashlight. She frowned, running the tip of her quill along her lower lip in concentration. This year would be NEWT year. The sooner she started studying, the better, but she still didn't understand what she was reading. The girl, Alyssa Clark, groaned in frustration, falling back onto her pillow with a huff, the book falling to the floor with a soft thud.

Suddenly she jumped as the streetlight outside her window flickered out. Ever the curious type, she slid out of bed to peer out. Her eyes widened as she saw two hooded figures making their way soundlessly across the front yard. She looked closer and her heart dropped into the pit of her stomach as she saw wands clutched in their hands.

Death Eaters.

Alarm surged through her as she fumbled about her darkened room for her wand. Her home on Acre Drive was an almost entirely Muggle area except for the Bones' house on the far end of the street. The Death Eaters must have come for them for information, killing all the Muggles in the neighborhood on the way. _Well, I won't let them. _She thought, straightening up, wand in hand._ Not while I'm still living! _A loud bang sounded downstairs as the door was blasted off its hinges. She heard her father's footsteps on the stairs as he rushed down to confront the intruders. She threw her door open. No no no this could not be happening….

"Who are you? What do you want?" Her father demanded.

Alyssa ran down the stairs after him, wand drawn. "Papa don't! It's the Death Eaters!"

But her warning came too late. A jet of green light shot across the room and struck her father directly in the chest and he crumpled to the ground.

Alyssa let out a cry of anguish, turning her wand on the Death Eater who had killed him and sending a Bone Shattering curse at his head. The tall man dodged the spell and sent more in her direction.

The next few moments were a blur, but when it had ended, one of the dark pair was on the ground, and her mother's corpse lay prone next to her father's, a victim of one of the brute's cutting curses. Tears blurred Alyssa's eyes as she fought off the remaining Death Eater, not knowing whom she was fighting for anymore. Herself? The other people in her neighborhood? Not for herself, surely. Both her parents were dead. She was all alone in the world now. They were the only family she'd had left. What else was there for her now?

Then perhaps it was for the little boys that ran about on the playground, for the kind Mrs. Patmore across the street who always stopped to say hello every morning as she walked her dog, and for the kind old Mr. Marley next door who worked tirelessly on his flower garden until it rivaled that of the queen.

A thought struck her as she continued to fight.

The two had been seen coming from the eastern side of the road.

If they were breaking into Muggle homes one by one, the little boys were probably dead in their beds; precious young lives gone forever from the world all too soon.

Her eyes narrowed as she faced off against the remaining Death Eater. This man had killed children. Innocent children. Children she had known since they were two. Children who made cookies in the kitchen with her whenever she babysat. Her normally kind disposition shattered as she screamed, "Crucio!"

The man cackled at her feeble attempt at the Unforgivable spell and ducked almost lazily under it, sending a volley of cutting curses her way. Alyssa ducked around one spell, two, three, four, five-

An invisible sword slashed deep into her neck, the blow sending her flying into the wall. She slid to the floor, dazed, pressing a hand to the wound. She knew no spells to heal a gash this deep. Her vision was growing hazy….

The Death Eater above her smiled cruelly, turning on the spot and striding from the house, his work done. He stood proudly on her doorstep screaming out a spell too muffled to her ears for her to understand, sending a sickly evil green into the sky where it remained floating over the now empty houses. Alyssa drew one last shuddering breath, and everything was gone.

8-8-8-8-8-8

Alyssa opened her eyes blearily, and looked around her, confused. The house was in shambles and her parents lay dead on the floor. She had been hit with a cutting curse…. She must have passed out from blood loss. But the curse had slit her throat! How was she alive? She turned around.

There lay her body, prone on the floor; blood no longer dripping from her neck, blue eyes glassy and unseeing.

She gasped, staring down at her hands, which up until this moment, she hadn't realized were opaque and silver. She was a ghost. It hit her like a ton of bricks and she floated to the floor, drawing her knees to her chest, her head in her arms.

She was all alone.

Her parents were in the afterlife and she was left behind.

Soft sobs began to push their way from her lips as she sat on the ground. What was she going to do? What was she going to _do?_ She closed her eyes tight as if somehow she might be dreaming all this. It would be all right when she woke up.

It would be all right when she woke up.

It would be all right….

It wouldn't.

8-8-8-8-8-8

It was several hours later when Alyssa found the will to move again. She had to report the attack immediately. But she was a ghost. She couldn't use the Floo Network. She got up and began pacing, or rather floating back and forth over the ground, deep in thought. She shook her head. No, first she would look for survivors.

She looked into every house in the neighborhood, the sun finally beginning to rise over the trees as she reached the end of the block.

The two boys lay together on the floor, one in front of the other, clearly having died trying to protect his brother, both their eyes open in horror. Mrs. Patmore lay peacefully on her bed, her body cold, but a small smile on her face all the same. Alyssa found herself smiling at the thought that at least the old lady had died while asleep instead of in fear like the household before. Mr. Marley's garden was ruthlessly trampled, the stems broken, petals scattered about, and the door to the back shed handing by one hinge, years of tireless work gone in one night. She peered inside to find him lying on the ground still in his gardening overalls and turned away, unable to see any more.

Then at last, she reached the Bones' house. They were likely dead just like all the rest. She frowned. She couldn't leave the house unchecked just because of her own despair. She had to make sure no one had hidden out of sight waiting to be found. Drawing her courage, she drifted down the front walk and through the front door. As soon as she set foot in the house, she was glad she hadn't skipped it. Sobbing could be heard from the sitting room. She floated in and her eyes met a sad sight.

Both the Bones' were dead on the ground. There was clear sign of a struggle, with blood spattered onto the walls and a broken wand in the corner of the room. A young girl with long red hair was sobbing into her dead mother's chest that lay silent with one leg bent at an odd angle.

Alyssa came soundlessly closer, resting an ice-cold hand on the girl's shoulder, trying to be gentle so as not to startle her. However, as soon as the girl felt her, her head jerked up in alarm, and she threw herself across her mother's unmoving chest. Alyssa raised her transparent hands to show she was not a threat, and the girl's gaze softened as she realized the intruder was completely see-through.

"Are you a ghost?" She asked shakily, wiping her eyes on her wrists.

"Yep. Looks to be that way. Are you all right?" Alyssa inwardly winced. That was a stupid question. The girl clearly wasn't all right and neither was she. They had both seen their parents die tonight.

The girl nodded. "I'm ok, but Mommy and Daddy are gone!"

Alyssa floated to the ground beside her and put an arm around her, focusing on her magic to try and make herself just a little warmer so that she didn't make the girl feel like she'd been dunked in ice water. "Mine are gone too. I lost them tonight just like you did."

"How'd you die?"

This would have been a rather innocent question had the girl asked one of the Hogwarts ghosts. To a newly departed soul, not so much. Alyssa tried not to wince at the question and took a deep breath. "I- My house was attacked and I tried to protect my parents. I managed to hold them off for a while but eventually I started getting tired and they sent a bunch of different curses my way all at once and I just wasn't quick enough."

The girl looked down sadly for a moment, "Are you sad?"

"Yes."

"Are you scared?"

"A little."

"Me too."

Alyssa pulled the girl close, her little body going through the front of her chest, "What's your name, love?"

"Susan."

"I'm Alyssa."

The two sat in silence for a while, comforting one another, until a thought struck Alyssa. She couldn't Floo to the Ministry to alert them, but Susan could.

"Susan?"

"Yeah?"

"Does your sitting room have any Floo powder left?"

The girl dried her eyes with a sniffle, "Yeah."

"Ok. I need you to Floo to the Ministry where your Auntie Amelia works and tell her what happened."

Susan nodded and got up, taking the pot of Floo powder from the mantelpiece and walking into the fireplace. It was then that she noticed that Alyssa hadn't grabbed any. "What about you?"

Alyssa shook her head. "I'm a ghost, sweetheart, I can't use the Floo like you can. Just promise to come back for me, all right?"

"Okay." Said Susan. She dropped her handful of Floo powder into the flames. "The Head office of the DMLE!"

The flames flared, and she was gone.

Alyssa floated up from the floor and into the dining room where the bodies were out of eyesight and sat down at one of the chairs to wait. It didn't take long before the fireplace began flaring up again bringing Susan, a pale Amelia Bones, a grave Albus Dumbledore, and several Aurors. She floated back into the sitting room where the bodies were.

Director Bones' eyes filled with tears as she beheld the sight of two members of her family on the floor. She forced her eyes away, trying her best to be professional about the matter, but failing. Auror Tonks regarded Alyssa sadly. Alyssa remembered the young woman graduating Hogwarts the year before. Her normally bright pink hair was currently a mousy brown in sadness. Professor Dumbledore regarded the scene similarly. Both she and the Bones' had been his students after all.

Alyssa stayed out of the way as they took care of the bodies, cleaned the room, and arranged funeral matters. Finally, Amelia turned to her. She inclined her head, looking pained at the sight of the gash on Alyssa's silvery neck. "I'm sorry we did not get here in time to save your life Miss Clark."

Alyssa smiled sadly and shook her head. "No need to apologize. I did the best I could. I just wasn't quick enough."

"Are there any survivors in the neighborhood that you know of?"

"None except Susan ma'am. I checked."

"I'm sorry you had to see that." Amelia sighed looking down to where her niece clung to her, unlikely to let go anytime soon. "I'm sorry _both_ of you had to go through that."

Dumbledore strode forward, "Miss Clark, I regret to inform you that there is no way for us to send your spirit to rest with your parents until whatever purpose your spirit had by staying here is finished. You can join the ghosts of Hogwarts until then if you wish."

Alyssa sighed sadly as she realized she would be unable to join her parents but nodded. That was what she had expected to happen, but that hadn't stopped her from hoping all the same. "Thank you Professor Dumbledore."

Dumbledore stood back, levitating a teakettle from the kitchen cabinet into the room and touched it with his wand, saying the Portkey spell, as well as another spell Alyssa did not know. He placed the kettle on the coffee table. "This will send you to Hogwarts, Miss Clark."

Alyssa reached out a silver hand but faltered. "Sir, I thought ghosts couldn't interact with objects of this world?"

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Ah, you are partially correct Miss Clark, but if that were entirely true then how could Peeves still be dropping Dungbombs in the hallways every year?"

Alyssa chuckled softly at that before gliding to the coffee table where the kettle sat. She turned back towards Susan one last time and gave her a comforting smile before placing her hand on the Portkey and disappearing from the house.

**A/n: Those or you who know me, I am taking a break from LOZ for a little while to try out this new concept story I came up with last week. It will be OC-centric, depicting first year Hogwarts with a few little tweaks of my own. I don't know how long the story will go on, so it may continue into second year and it might not. It really just depends on what I feel like doing. **

**Anyway! Please review! Constructive criticisms and little plot ideas are much appreciated!**


	2. Chapter 1: New Year, New Life

September 1st could not come fast enough for Alyssa. Sure, getting to know the other ghosts was an interesting and fun experience and she had gotten to say hello to all her Professors as they were preparing lesson plans. (All except for Snape, who accepted her greeting but shooed her away rather quickly before returning to his papers, muttering about "Hufflepuff dunderheads") But the castle just didn't feel the same without the hustle and bustle of students in the hallways and in the dormitories. For now, she had amused herself by reading in the library and talking and playing with the other ghosts.

Nearly Headless Nick ("I prefer Sir Nicholas de Mimsy!") was always good for a chat. Ghostly humor took some getting used to, however. Having been dead for only two months, it was still rather strange for Alyssa to hear about death in such a casual manner, but she supposed for one such as Nick, who had been dead for centuries now, it probably came as second nature. She gave her best effort every day in trying to accept her death for what it was in the same way he always did. However, whenever he bemoaned the fact that he had been denied a place in the Headless Hunt yet again that year, she just tuned him out and nodded.

The Grey Lady, although quite shy at first, was a very kind woman, and for a ghost she had known so little about before, Alyssa found she quite enjoyed her company. The two had made a game out of their visits, with Alyssa having to solve the riddle at the Ravenclaw doorknocker before floating through the door to greet the woman.

The Fat Friar, her house ghost, was very understanding of her new predicament and was quite happy to tell her all the ins and outs of being a ghost. He always popped in to check on her every morning by floating through the seventh year dormitory walls with a jovial hello. She had a few rounds of chess with him and found out he was rather dreadful at it, but he never complained no matter how many times she beat him. ("You're getting quite good at this my dear! I believe you beat me in under five minutes that time!") He also comforted her on the day she realized she would never be able to truly enjoy a Hogwarts feast the same way ever again, nodding and saying he had felt the same way after he had died.

The Bloody Baron, despite his rather gruesome appearance, was a surprisingly nice fellow. Sure, he was a bit strict and a little moody at times with a well-known temper to boot, but as long as you didn't anger him, he was all right to be around. He helped her to complete her summer homework and made History thousands of times more interesting than Binns ever had. When she asked why he hadn't taken the post he shrugged and said, "I didn't want the younger years to be frightened away from history class altogether."

Apparently, he was a bit more bothered by his appearance than she had previously thought. She had talked to him quietly for a while, telling him that once people got to know him like she did, they wouldn't be quite so scared. He still refused the post, however, because whenever she tried he would say, his chains clinking about as he shook his head, "Miss Clark I appreciate the vote of confidence but I must decline. Professor Binns was a rewound historian in his time and my teachings would not come close to his." She had tried telling him many times that Binns seemed to be permanently stuck on repeat on Goblin Wars, and was getting increasingly duller with each passing year, but he refused to listen.

She managed to help out Moaning Myrtle just a little bit. She sat on top of the sinks with the girl for a very long time as the poor girl vented about how much everyone hated her. Alyssa did her best to comfort her and let her cry into her chest. When she put her arms around the younger Hufflepuff, the girl began to wail even louder. Apparently it was the first hug she'd had in nearly fifty years. When Myrtle had cried herself out, Alyssa asked her why she was so sad all the time, and tried to give her a couple of tricks to stay positive. Eventually the girl confessed, to her embarrassment, that she had died while still on her period, which greatly explained her mood swings. "I usually tell people I ran into the stalls because Olive Hornby was teasing me about my glasses. But what really happened was I was outside and had my outer robes off because it was hot, and she saw that I had bled through my trousers!" She pulled back her cloak and turned around to show the stain.

Alyssa frowned. "That's horrible! All girls have periods and should support each other through them, not tear them down!"  
"I know!" Myrtle moaned burying her head in her hands. "It was so unfair and so embarrassing I threw my cloak on and ran and hid in here so I could cry but-"

"Then you died." Alyssa finished.

Myrtle nodded.

Alyssa was confused. How could a girl die in a bathroom without any visible marks of death on her other than the blood hidden by her cloak? She thought for a minute. Most ghosts considered asking how they died a flattering question, but then again this was Myrtle. She decided to take the leap. "I hope you don't mind me asking but… how did you die?"

To her relief, Myrtle looked flattered. "No one's bothered to ask me that question before in years." She blushed. "I heard someone come into the bathroom, and from the sound of it they were male. I had no idea what a boy was doing in my bathroom so at first I stayed hidden, but then he started speaking in some made up language and by then I thought he had gone off his rocker so I unlocked the door to tell him to go away and then…" She paused for dramatic affect, "I died."

Alyssa was left even more confused than when she started. "Um, just like that? How?"

"I just remember these huge yellow eyes." She shuddered. "I prefer not to talk about them. They scared me so. It was so strange. After I saw them I felt myself floating away."

Alyssa put her chin on her fist in thought and smiled. "That's rather mysterious, huh? You died just by looking it in the eye."

"I know!" Myrtle giggled, twirling about in the air. It was the first time Alyssa had ever seen her so happy. She was glad she brought it up. They debated for a while on what the thing might have been, but ended up unable to find out anything.

After that, the conversation switched to boys. The two girls spent quite a lot of time giggling and blushing silver as they confessed to their crushes over the years. Myrtle finally confessed that she sometimes went to the Prefect's bathroom to watch the boys bathe and the two burst out laughing until the sound echoed off the walls and out into the hallway, sending a confused McGonagall walking in. "What on earth is going on here?"

"Nothing!" The two ghost girls cried in unison, sending them into further giggles.

McGonagall huffed at having been interrupted by a bunch of giggling girls, but a small smile played on the edges of her lips as she walked out the door. After all those years, Myrtle might not feel so lonely anymore. Maybe they wouldn't have to fix the plumbing quite so much this year.

8-8-8-8-8-8

Finally the day came when the students came pouring in. Alyssa was walking with Nick and the Friar at the time, and all three were arguing over whether they should have to put up with Peeves for yet another year.

"I've had him drop _way_ to many Dungbombs on my head when I was alive! He needs to go!" Alyssa said passionately.

"But Miss Clark," smirked the Friar, "I saw you only yesterday conspiring with the poltergeist over how to prank Professor Snape."

Alyssa made no comment.

It was then that they noticed they were no longer alone. The first years had stopped in the middle of the hallway and were staring at them. Many of the Muggleborns looked rather frightened, but some of the Purebloods merely looked curious. Alyssa waved to them as the Friar turned jovially to them. "Ah! New students! Hope to see you in Hufflepuff. My old house you know!"

Alyssa shook her head fondly as the Friar floated away. "It's perfectly all right no matter what house you end up in, ok? No matter what rumors you may have heard about the other houses, I want you to throw those out the window and try to have an open mind about this. And don't forget that even if you end up in a different house than your friends, you can always have friends between houses."

Several students nodded thoughtfully, however some, like a bushy haired girl and three boys standing off to the left, seemed quite sure of keeping their opinions based on those rumors. Alyssa inwardly sighed. She supposed she couldn't convince all of them.

"Hi Alyssa!"

She turned as a little voice in the back addressed her. She saw a flash of red hair and a hand waving at her and realized Susan Bones had come to Hogwarts. She grinned and waved back before floating after the other two ghosts into the Great Hall. However, she remained in the wall to listen in on the conversation of the newcomers to see which ones had not heeded her words.

"'It's perfectly all right no matter what house you end up in.' Pffft! I've never heard such a Hufflepuff thing in all my life!" A white-blonde boy mocked her, looking haughtily down his nose at the others students. "My father says all the other houses besides Slytherin are rubbish."

"Of course _you'd_ think so, Malfoy," Scowled a redheaded freckled boy with a rather long nose. He looked to be related to the Weasleys. "With a father like yours. With a stick that far up his arse, he'd refuse to see anything in front of him unless it was held out to him on a silver platter."

There were a few snickers as the Malfoy boy turned pink, "Don't you dare talk about my father like that, Weasley!" He spat out the name like mud from his mouth. He turned to a raven-haired boy next to Weasley, "Soon you'll find some families are better than others, Potter. Uncouth, hand me down robes, not knowing how to respect their betters," he dressed down Weasley who was turning redder by the second. "I can help you find other families that are actually worth your time."

He held out his hand to the boy, who by now Alyssa realized was Harry Potter. Harry regarded the hand coolly. "Ron's my friend, Malfoy. And I think I can tell the wrong sort of people for myself, thanks. You, however, act no better than my fat, Muggle cousin."

Malfoy looked insulted at being compared to a Muggle and opened his mouth to argue, but Professor McGonagall had already returned so he closed it and settled for glaring at Harry. Alyssa smiled to herself, glad Harry had stood up for himself, and floated over to the Hufflepuff table to go say hello to her friends.

When her fellow seventh year Hufflepuffs saw her, their eyes filled with tears, but she quickly assured them that her life as a ghost was turning out to be quite fun, joking that the only downside was that she'd never have her favorite apple turnovers ever again. Her best friend, Tess, tried to hug her despite knowing she would go right through her, and let the cold of Alyssa's transparent body ground her. She sat down at the open spot next to her friend, grasping her hand as best as she could (her hand went through her wrist) as the first years filed in.

It appeared that her kind words had comforted some of them, because they seemed not quite as nervous as previous years.

Dumbledore stepped up to the podium and said his usual start of term speech, with the addition of the fact that the third floor corridor was now out of bounds to anyone who did not wish to die a most painful death.

Alyssa frowned. She'd be checking into that later.

"And also, I would like to welcome a new ghost to the walls of Hogwarts, Miss Alyssa Clark." Alyssa floated to the front of the Hall next to Dumbledore and bowed before he continued, "I'm sure several of you heard of the attack on her neighborhood in June and may take comfort in knowing that while dead she is still here. Those of you who don't know her, Miss Clark is a seventh year Hufflepuff ghost and was a Prefect while alive."

Alyssa smiled at them all, "And just like before, I am here if any of you wish to talk. My door is always open." She floated back to her seat and rested her head on Tess's shoulder to listen to the sorting.

McGonagall took her place by the Sorting Hat as it gave its customary song and the sorting began.

"Abbott, Hannah!"

Hannah took a deep breath and walked shakily to the stool and sat down. She was there for only three seconds then-

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Alyssa clapped along with the rest of her house as Hannah joined them, Prefect Cedric Diggory clapping her supportively on the arm.

"Bones, Susan!"

Alyssa could feel herself vibrating with a mix of apprehension and excitement as her little friend stepped up to the Sorting Hat. She sat down on the stool, giving Alyssa a wink before the hat went down over her eyes. The hat considered her for a moment, then opened wide with a cry of-

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Alyssa made sure to clap extra loud for her as Susan looked back at Hannah and smiled encouragingly before joining the Gryffindors. Several more students were sorted. 'Granger, Hermione' went into Gryffindor to the dismay of one Ron Weasley, 'Longbottom, Neville' went into Gryffindor to his apparent surprise, 'Malfoy, Draco' was an instant Slytherin to the surprise of no one, 'Patil, Parvati' went into Gryffindor and her sister 'Patil Padma' joined the ranks of Ravenclaw where she smiled supportively at her sister across the hallway, where Parvati gave her an identical smile in return. And then came the name everyone in the hall seemed to be waiting for:

"Potter, Harry!"

Harry sat beneath the hat for the longest time yet until finally-

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The Gryffindor table erupted. Cheers rent the hall as other houses looked on disappointedly. The Weasley twins got up and started a jig singing "We got Potter! We got Potter!"

When the hall finally settled down, the sorting continued with 'Boot, Terry' going into Ravenclaw, 'Smith, Zacharias' going into Slytherin to his utter disappointment and grumbling "shouldn't have listened to that ruddy ghost" the whole way, with 'Weasley, Ron' joining the Gryffindors, and finally 'Zambini, Blaze' joined the Ravenclaws with an impassive expression.

Dumbledore stepped up to the podium, "I have a few words to say to you: nitwit, oddment, blubber, tweak. Now tuck in!"

There was scattered chuckling and calls of "hear hear" as the feast appeared before everyone.

Alyssa floated over to her little friend. "Hello Susan. I see you took my advice?"

Susan nodded, smiling from where she sat next to Hermione Granger, "Yeah! I really didn't expect to end up in Gryffindor, but Auntie Amelia will support it even if I didn't end up in Mum and Dad's house!"

Her chipper expression dimmed slightly at the mention of her parents. Alyssa gripped her shoulder bracingly; "I know they'll be proud of you too no matter what, just as I am."

"You're sure?" Susan looked up uncertainly.

Alyssa shrugged, "Well, think about it. Would they support you or not?"  
Susan thought for a moment before nodding. "Yep. They would support me just like Auntie Amelia." She turned back to the ghost, "But even though I'm in Gryffindor, can you still visit me?"

Alyssa smiled, "I can go anywhere in the castle that I like. I'll be checking in on all the first years in all the houses during the first few weeks to help out anyone who's feeling homesick. I'd love to come and talk with you any time you'd like."

Hermione Granger smiled at her as she scooped mashed potatoes onto her plate. "That's nice of you, er, Alyssa right?"

Alyssa nodded. "Yes. Thank you, Hermione."

Susan took a bite of her steak, "Well, it's the truth, Lizzy. You helped me get out of there! I'll always be grateful for that."

Alyssa smiled before turning to the pudgy boy next to Hermione, saying rather jokingly, "Neville, you all right over there?"

The boy seemed to be in an awed sort of shock. "Whatever dream I'm in right now, don't wake me up… I listened to your advice and I still got in Gryffindor! I can't believe I'm in Gryffindor!" He beamed around him, taking in the sight of red and gold as if it were pure heaven.

Alyssa chuckled, "I'm happy for you."

She noticed Hermione staring at her and tilted her head questioningly. Hermione's cheeks went a bit pink. "Um… this is a bit insensitive but… how did you get that wound on your neck?"

Alyssa's hand flew to her throat by habit and smiled placatingly, "It's perfectly all right to ask. Most people assume questioning ghosts about their deaths to be insensitive, but after a while, we just accept the fact. Anyway, the wound is from a well-aimed cutting curse when some bad men broke into my house. I just wasn't quick enough to dodge, I guess."

She shrugged it off like it wasn't a big deal so as not to worry her. She noticed Susan frowning sadly down at her carrots, but said nothing to draw attention to it.

"I'm half and half. Me dad's a Muggle, Mam's a witch." A boy was saying further down the table. "Pretty nasty shock for him when he found out." There was laugher around him as the children thought of the man's reaction.

Dean Thomas frowned. "Both my parents are Muggles. I must be so far behind everyone else in terms of magic…"

Alyssa floated over. "Actually, no matter if you are Pureblood, Half blood, or Muggleborn, most children start at the same level anyway, so there's no need to worry."

Dean heaved a sigh of relief. Harry looked rather relived as well, but wasn't nearly as obvious about it. Nick joined her with a smile. "Getting to know the new first years, Mrs. Clark?"

Ron looked up from his chicken. "Hey, I know you! Fred and George mentioned you. You're Nearly Headless Nick!"

Nick looked affronted. "I prefer to go by Sir Nicholas de Mimsy if you don't mind."

Hermione joined the conversation, her face curious. "'Nearly Headless?' Why Nearly Headless? Your head looks fine to me."

Nick sighed. "Actually…"

He pulled hard on his hair, causing his head to fall sideways onto his shoulder. There were several cries of disgust as the students saw that he had indeed died by beheading but the executioner clearly hadn't done it right, with his head barely remaining attached to his neck by a small sliver of skin.

"Really, Nick! We're eating over here!" Fred or George Weasley, she couldn't figure out which, cried indignantly.

Alyssa scrunched her nose. "Honestly Nick. It's dinnertime. People don't like to see that while eating."

Nick flipped his head back on where it quivered precariously for a moment, "My apologies. I have not eaten for hundreds of years. I merely forgot myself."

"Oh sure." One of the twins muttered. "He only forgets every once in a while-"

"Every start of term feast-"

"Every end of term feast-"

"Someone asks every year and he just can't resist showing off."

Nick looked insulted and floated off in a huff, giggles following in his wake.

When the feast ended, the first years began trailing after the Prefects. Knowing that out of all the houses, the Gryffindors were not given as much direction, Alyssa brought up the rear of the line of Gryffindors to give out directions to those too far away to hear the Prefect at the front. She pointed out the paintings that were good to ask for directions and which ones were not at all helpful, she helped pull Neville Longbottom's foot out of the trick stair, and she told the students where all the other common rooms were located so that they could meet up with all their friends that were outside of their house. After the last of the students entered the portrait of the Fat Lady, Alyssa followed Susan upstairs to the girls' dormitories to see how she was settling in.

She phased through the door to find the girls sitting on their beds, unpacking their trunks. Parvati and Lavender were already whispering and giggling to one another, friends at first sight. Hermione had organized her books on the dormitory bookshelf and was contentedly reading _A Standard Book of Spells Grade 1. _Susan was browsing the bookshelf for something good to read.

"I'd recommend potions. Snape is rather strict on the Gryffindors, so the sooner you master it on your own, the better." Alyssa remarked, sliding the book off the shelf and into Susan's hands. Susan smiled and nodded in thanks before joining Hermione and striking up a small conversation on what spells the other girl had read about so far. Hermione's eyes sparked and began talking very fast, showing the different wand movements as she spoke.

Alyssa checked in on the Gryffindor boys next. Like Lavender and Parvati, Dean and Seamus had become fast friends and were talking about their favorite sports, comparing and contrasting football and Quiddich. Ron was chatting with Harry, munching on a Chocolate Frog while Harry lay on his back staring at the ceiling a benign smile on his face, blissful just at the thought that he was finally at Hogwarts. The only one who seemed out of place was Neville, who was quietly unpacking his trunk with his back to the others. Perhaps he was simply introverted. Either way, Alyssa resolved to swing by and check on him later. She popped into the common room to make sure the twins hadn't blown anything up yet before continuing on to check on the rest of the first years throughout the castle, giving in to the lifetime wish of many at Hogwarts to give Mrs. Norris a swift kick in the behind on the way to the Ravenclaw tower, smiling innocently at the angry hissing that followed her up the stairs.

8-8-8-8-8-8

When night fell, Alyssa returned at last to the Gryffindor common room. The common room was empty, with no one doing any late night studying what with it being the first day of school. She ascended the stairs, popping her head through the first year girl's dormitory door to make sure her little Susan was sleeping undisturbed. It was then that she remembered her previous mental note to check on Neville. She popped back out and turned to the other side of the tower.

She floated through the walls and into the first year boys' dormitory, and looked over by the window to see a boy sitting on the sill staring out at the sky.

"Neville?"

The boy turned round quickly, startled, but then relaxed. "Oh. Alyssa…"

Alyssa settled herself next to him on the sill. "Sorry for scaring you."

He shook his head. "It's ok."

He looked back out at the stars once more. She joined him in stargazing in the silence before asking, "Why you up?"

Neville drew his knees to his chest nervously, "I still can't believe it. I got into Gryffindor…." He chuckled sadly, "But just because I got in doesn't mean I belong. The other boys already have friends and I'm stuck all by myself just like always. Again."

He sighed. "The hat must've been wrong. How else could I have gotten into Gryffindor without asking it to put me here? I'm scared by almost everything. Even when you snuck up on me just now…. I'm a pathetic coward, I'm fat and I'm a crybaby, my whole family thought I was a Squib for years before I showed any magic, I'm horrible at spells-"

"I'm gonna just stop you right there, Nev." Alyssa floated in front of him and placing both hands on his shoulders bracingly, looking him in the eye imploringly, "The hat is never wrong. If you weren't a brave person deep inside, you wouldn't be here." She sat back down and looked out at the stars, finding the constellations she had learned in Astronomy. She ran a hand through his hair. "Maybe you just don't see it yet."

Neville barely smiled. "If I am brave deep down, it must be pretty deep in there. Gran never says it aloud, but I know she's disappointed that I'm not as brave as my Dad."

Alyssa sighed. So many people placed unreasonable expectations on their children not knowing how much pressure those expectations truly were. She got up and placed her hand on his shoulder once more, "Chin up. Don't let other people's expectations of you rule your life. Just be yourself. And you never know, your big moment might be just around the corner." She drew him in for a quick hug. "Get some rest, ok?"

Neville looked like he might cry. He smiled and nodded, sliding to the floor and lay down in bed, falling asleep with a smile on his face.


End file.
